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April ACS
TO THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE
BENTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS:
nave boon informed that six teachers from Benton county have not
Mieir contracts renewed for the coming term at Old Salem. They are
. . Sadie Avant, Mrs. Annie Jeffries, Mrs. Mary Crawford, Mrs. Minnie
>ro, Mr. Jake McAfee, and Mr. Walter Webber.
Last winter the members of the School Committee of the Benton County
Citizens Club were given to understand by the Board of Education that
only the principal has the power to hire and fire teachers. Yet, we
have been told that Mr. Peterson, the new principal at Old Salem, did
recommend that five of the six teachers mentioned above be rehired for
the coming term at Old Salem and that this recommendation was turned
down by the Board of Education.
We also understand that after the recommendations were turned down,
Mr. Peterson wrote to the Board asking that the Board reconsider its
decision to dismiss these teachers.
We have been told that the reasons given for the dismissal of these
teachers were:
1. Four of them (Mr, McAfee, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Avant, and Mrs. Jeffries) do not have bachelors' degrees.
2. Throe teacher-units were lost at Old Salem. Thus, Mr. Webber had
to be dismissed.
3. The Board is trying to upgrade Old Salem so as to get it accredited, and, therefore, teachers who graduated from unaccredited colleges
will have to be dismissed.
In regard to the first reason, the School Committee understood from
Mr. L. Hamer McKenzio last February that as long as the four teachers
without degrees were continuing their education toward degrees, they
would not be dismissed. This they are doing, It is our understanding
that two of these teachers, Mr. McAfee and Mrs. Moore, have letters
from Rust College stating that they will finish their requirements for
their degrees by the beginning of the coming term at Old Salem.
In regard to the second reason, we do not understand why the five
teachers dismissed in April (Mr. and Mrs. Foster, Mr. and Mrs. James,
and Mr. Williams) will not more than compensate for the loss of three
teacher-units.
In regard to the third reason, most teachers at Old Salem are from
unaccredited colleges, and we are disturbed that the Board would dismiss teachers from Benton county before dismissing teachers who are
from other counties. Further, no Negro college in North Mississippi is
accredited by the Southern Association, and we do not believe that
accreditation by the Association is a valid way of determining which
Negro colleges are truly qualified institutions of higher learning.
itfe are therefore submitting the enclosed petition for consideration
by the Benton County Board of Education.
The Benton County Citizens Club

This folder contains items gathered by Sandra Hard, a Freedom Summer volunteer from Pasadena, California, who worked as a freedom school teacher in Holly Springs, Mississippi. It includes a 1965 document from the Benton County Citizens Club protesting the firing of 6 black teachers; a COFO memo consisting of an overview of freedom schools for freedom school teachers; Sandra Hard's letters to her family and friends; a report of her activities during her first week on the job; the familiar COFO "Security Manual"; press releases from Sandra Hard, Frank Cieciorka, and Ray Stanley on their freedom summer goals and achievements; newsletters from the Wesley Foundation on Freedom Summer; memos to accepted Freedom Summer applicants; freedom song lyrics; essays by freedom school students; a description of an SCLC citizenship education curriculum; Sandra's brief autobiographical sketch for her SNCC Freedom Summer application; an appeal for federal protection for civil rights workers; legal precedents for such protection; the text of a Mississippi bill to make illegitimacy a felony; an introductory COFO letter, beginning "Dear Summer Project Worker" and providing information about orientation in Oxford, Ohio; documents from the Parents' Mississippi Emergency Committee of the Los Angeles area; schedule and documents from a fall 1964 SNCC West Coast conference; an offer to subscribe to a newsletter of California volunteers' letters from Mississippi; a July 29, 1964 issue of the Rust College Bearcat; a list of supplies needed by the Holly Springs Freedom School; SNCC documents about fall 1964 incidents and plans; letters from volunteers still in Mississippi in the fall; a SNCC press release about Mississippi white college students organizing to oppose civil rights workers; a document describing the MFDP and its programs, plans, and candidates; guidelines for dealing with the media; a letter from the Bay Area SNCC inviting returning civil rights workers to join them; civil rights recruiting materials from the National Student Christian Federation; detailed plans for a COFO staff meeting in August 1964; invitation to a homecoming event for California volunteers; description of a SNCC intern position; a blank form for membership in the Bay Area Friends of SNCC; and reports on the McComb fire bombing.

Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

April ACS
TO THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE
BENTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS:
nave boon informed that six teachers from Benton county have not
Mieir contracts renewed for the coming term at Old Salem. They are
. . Sadie Avant, Mrs. Annie Jeffries, Mrs. Mary Crawford, Mrs. Minnie
>ro, Mr. Jake McAfee, and Mr. Walter Webber.
Last winter the members of the School Committee of the Benton County
Citizens Club were given to understand by the Board of Education that
only the principal has the power to hire and fire teachers. Yet, we
have been told that Mr. Peterson, the new principal at Old Salem, did
recommend that five of the six teachers mentioned above be rehired for
the coming term at Old Salem and that this recommendation was turned
down by the Board of Education.
We also understand that after the recommendations were turned down,
Mr. Peterson wrote to the Board asking that the Board reconsider its
decision to dismiss these teachers.
We have been told that the reasons given for the dismissal of these
teachers were:
1. Four of them (Mr, McAfee, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Avant, and Mrs. Jeffries) do not have bachelors' degrees.
2. Throe teacher-units were lost at Old Salem. Thus, Mr. Webber had
to be dismissed.
3. The Board is trying to upgrade Old Salem so as to get it accredited, and, therefore, teachers who graduated from unaccredited colleges
will have to be dismissed.
In regard to the first reason, the School Committee understood from
Mr. L. Hamer McKenzio last February that as long as the four teachers
without degrees were continuing their education toward degrees, they
would not be dismissed. This they are doing, It is our understanding
that two of these teachers, Mr. McAfee and Mrs. Moore, have letters
from Rust College stating that they will finish their requirements for
their degrees by the beginning of the coming term at Old Salem.
In regard to the second reason, we do not understand why the five
teachers dismissed in April (Mr. and Mrs. Foster, Mr. and Mrs. James,
and Mr. Williams) will not more than compensate for the loss of three
teacher-units.
In regard to the third reason, most teachers at Old Salem are from
unaccredited colleges, and we are disturbed that the Board would dismiss teachers from Benton county before dismissing teachers who are
from other counties. Further, no Negro college in North Mississippi is
accredited by the Southern Association, and we do not believe that
accreditation by the Association is a valid way of determining which
Negro colleges are truly qualified institutions of higher learning.
itfe are therefore submitting the enclosed petition for consideration
by the Benton County Board of Education.
The Benton County Citizens Club

Language

English

Source

Sandra Hard papers , 1964; Archives Main Stacks, SC 642;

Publisher-Electronic

Wisconsin Historical Society

Publication Date-Electronic

2013

Rights

Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.